Last week, the Methuen City Council had the chance to beautify a collapsing piece of public property on Union St., costing city taxpayers absolutely nothing. The state was willing to pay the full cost of the project. Instead of accepting the contract, however, two councilors harpooned the project, telling the public – and their fellow […]
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By: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell – May, 2019 The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to approve $42.7 billion budget for the state’s upcoming fiscal year. The budget includes notable investments in education, housing, and public safety while keeping in line with revenue projections to ensure balanced spending. The House budget makes major investments […]
Representative Linda Dean Campbell of Methuen has successfully secured $300,000 for the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center (VNOC) in Haverhill in a preliminary version of the annual state budget. The House of Representatives unanimously adopted the funding as part of a package of veteran-related appropriations. Founded in 1985, the VNOC originally provided support and advocacy […]
Dear Valley Patriot Readers, As you read this, there is one conversation that is taking place in every city and town across the Commonwealth; it is a conversation that is of great importance and will impact every resident as community leaders contemplate budgets and residential tax rates. This hot topic is education funding. The current […]
Lowell, MA – The City of Lowell’s Syringe Collection Program, housed under the Substance Abuse and Prevention Division within the Lowell Health Department, began on April 19th, 2019. The Syringe Collection Program was created as a means to educate the community on the importance of safe and proper sharps storage and disposal, and to […]
With the benefits of new technology and a growing interest in the solar industry, The Valley Patriot sat down with Casey Bolduc of Ace Solar in North Andover to talk about the benefits of homes and small businesses going solar. Based in North Andover at Osgood Landing, Ace Solar is a family owned business. […]
Dear Valley Patriot Readers, Think for a moment of the last local business you visited. Maybe you stopped by the corner store to pick up milk, went to your local pizzeria for dinner, or picked up a new snow shovel before the last snowstorm at the Mom & Pop hardware shop. Whatever it was, your […]
March, 2019 There is no question that the City of Lawrence is the hub of the opioid epidemic in New England. There is also no question that while violent crime is drastically down over the last year, Lawrence is still a crime riddled city and a destination for heroin and other drug traffickers, users, and […]
By: Bharani Padmanabhan – Feb. 2019 That our government cannot simply take a person’s liberty or property without due process is a bedrock principle of the United States as found in the 5th Amendment to the Constitution. That “governmental purpose to control or prevent activities constitutionally subject to state regulation may not be achieved by […]
By: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell – Feb. 2019 I have filed a number of bills this session to address issues important to the residents of the Merrimack Valley and the Commonwealth. I will be filing additional legislation throughout the session, but some legislation has been put forth at this time as residents have already […]
By: John Cuddy – Feb. 2019 Haverhill’s Anthony J “Tony” Zukas lived at Haverhill Crossing on Amesbury Road near Northern Essex Community College when I interviewed him. The students at Northern Essex Community College, and all of us really, can learn much from this World War II Veteran. Originally, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, he was the […]
Minicucci Explains Why She Voted NO Last month State Senator Diana DiZoglio, (D-Methuen) made significant changes to Senate rules banning non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) regarding incidents of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination. The rule change, proposed by Senator DiZoglio, was passed unanimously during a formal session of the Senate. In addition to banning NDAs, the rule […]
REPORT: Four Councilors Benefited from Police Contract Vote The state Inspector General’s Office (IG) is an independent state agency that conducts investigations of government agencies and makes recommendations when wrongdoing is found. The IG investigated the process of the City of Methuen’s superior officer’s contract approval that has long been the subject of dispute. The […]
Feb. 2019 The Inspector General’s report on the approval of the Methuen Superior Officers’ contract was scathing and eye opening to those who have not been paying attention to Methuen politics. The report is harsh with criticism of former Mayor Zanni, current Mayor Jajuga, the previous city council, and others. It detailed how the former […]